USS Pulaski County

For other ships with the same name, see USS Pulaski.

USS Pulaski County (LST-1088) was a LST-1081-class tank landing ship of the United States Navy, named for seven counties in the United States.

USS Pulaski County (LST-1088), underway, date and location unknown.
History
United States
Name	LST-1088
Builder	American Bridge Company, Ambridge, Pennsylvania
Laid down	16 December 1944
Launched	11 February 1945
Commissioned	27 March 1945
Decommissioned	29 August 1946
Renamed	Pulaski County (LST-1088), 1 July 1955
Recommissioned	21 May 1963
Decommissioned	July 1967
In service	July 1967, as USNS Pulaski County (T-LST-1088)
Out of service	Unknown
Stricken	1 November 1973
Motto	Navis Septem Givitatum
Honors and awards	2 battle stars (Vietnam)
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 1 January 1975, to Abdul Sattar Chbib, of Midea GmbH in Frankfurt, w/Germany.
General characteristics
Class and type	LST-1081-class tank landing ship
Displacement	4,080 long tons (4,145 t) full
Length	328 ft (100 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	14 ft (4.3 m) aft
Propulsion	2 × General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	2 × LCVPs
Troops	Approximately 130 officers and enlisted men
Complement	8–10 officers, 89–100 enlisted
Armament	1 × single 3"/50 caliber gun mount 8 × 40 mm guns 12 × 20 mm guns

Construction

LST-1088 was laid down by the American Bridge Company of Ambridge, Pennsylvania, on 16 December 1944. The ship was launched on 11 February 1945, sponsored by Mrs. A. J. Paddock; and commissioned at Algiers, Louisiana, on 27 March 1945.

Service history

World War II, 1945–1946

After shakedown off Florida, LST-1088 departed the Gulf Coast on 6 May for the Pacific. She put into Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, Guam, Saipan, Manila, and Lingayen Gulf before landing occupation troops at Wakayama, Honshū, Japan on 28 October. She subsequently carried troops and cargo to Okinawa, Sasebo, Saipan, Pearl Harbor, and San Francisco, arriving there on 19 January 1946. In March she sailed for Portland, Oregon where she underwent pre-inactivation overhaul, was decommissioned on 29 August 1946, and berthed with the Columbia River Group, Pacific Reserve Fleet.

On 1 July 1955, LST-1088 was named USS Pulaski County (LST-1088). In 1961 Pulaski County was moved to the Reserve Group at Bremerton, Washington.

1963–1967

On 21 May 1963, she recommissioned and was assigned to Reserve LST Squadron 2 homeported in Little Creek, Virginia. The ship underwent refresher training at San Diego from 17 June to 2 July, then sailed on 20 July via the Panama Canal for Little Creek, arriving on 22 August.

In January and February 1964, Pulaski County transported obsolete ammunition from the Naval Ammunition Depot Earle, Monmouth County, New Jersey, for disposal at sea. She then operated along the east coast from Florida to New York, and provided training services for the Army at Little Creek. In late February 1965 Pulaski County supported a Project Gemini space flight. From 22 May through 25 August she supported Army troops during the Dominican Republic operations.

In early 1966 Pulaski County deployed from Little Creek to the Pacific via the Panama Canal. She spent most of the year in the western Pacific, particularly in South Vietnam, but also making port calls at Okinawa, The Philippines, Hong Kong and Sasebo, Japan. Her main duty was transporting cargo to Vietnam. She continued to operate in Vietnam and the Far East in early 1967. LST 1088 served in the Mekong Delta giving supplies to various stops including posts at Cần Thơ, Mỹ Tho, Nha Trang, Vung Tau, and Da Nang as well as support for PBRs on the river. In July 1967 she was transferred to Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), and was redesignated USNS Pulaski County (T-LST-1088). She served with MSTS into 1970.

Disposal

Struck from the Navy List on 1 November 1973, Pulaski County was sold for scrapping on 1 January 1975 by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service.

Awards

Pulaski County earned two battle stars for Vietnam War service.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be found here and here.

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Pulaski County at NavSource Naval History